Year: 2022

EMERGING MARKETS are developing creative plans on a national scale to attract and procure SMEs and talent to set up shop in their countries. This is part of the long term thinking of some Arab countries, who see the opportunity of an SME-driven economy and want to create a future economy no longer so dependent on a single finite resource, oil. This competitive global landscape is a great opportunity for entrepreneurs. http://lnkd.in/Ur3Div View in LinkedIn

INDIA is clearly struggling to upgrade its regulatory system and develop an environment that it thinks is fair. Clearly, this is a work in progress, with opposing factions playing off themes like The Constant Gardener. This great nation will undoubtedly find a workable solution, but the present setback is clearly damaging in the short-term. http://lnkd.in/9RR4hK View in LinkedIn

STEM CELL PRICING debate is now out of the gate, and promises to be controversial. This will test the proposition that the (potential) reversal of severe chronic diseases will save the healthcare system a lot of money, and test our willingness as a society to reward that saving with some kind of public insurance payment. " " http://lnkd.in/zYeshK View in LinkedIn

THE 24TH CHROMOSOME: synthetic biology engineering in man an extra chromosome is feasible today, as the recent report of a synthetic chromosome inserted into mouse cells demonstrated. This is truly a monumental milestone, a game changer we will all remember, and one with profound social and ethical consequences and implications. Knowledge cannot be unknown. We deal with the reality of intended and unintended consequences. http://lnkd.in/n2saNx View in LinkedIn

LARGEST NANOCLUSTER IN SPAIN is ICN2, the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience), one of the brand new CERCA research centers. I visited it today. There are ~800 scientists within a 1 km radius, working on very diverse nano applications. The B30 community (a key Catalan industrial zone) of 23 town halls, labor, universities (90 participants), decided, among other things, to make this area a Biosensor Industry hub, and stimulate industry-research collaboration. A result of the Crisis. View in LinkedIn

WHO: 10 facts on antimicrobial resistance" "March 2012: WHO/S. Hollyman" "Many of the drug treatment breakthroughs of the last century could be lost through the spread of antimicrobial resistance. As a result, many infectious diseases may one day become uncontrollable and could rapidly spread throughout the world. View in LinkedIn

EXCELLENT REVIEW OF SUGAR. http://lnkd.in/TRNd4y View in LinkedIn

JUNK DNA (an arrogant term at best) is just counter-intuitive: nature does not have huge chunks of highly complex systems as "junk": 98% of human, and 2% of bacterial DNA is non-coding DNA, and is largely conserved in evolutionary trees. As a biochemist, I have often marveled at the precision and failsafe systems built into metabolic pathways. It is the antithesis of haphazard. Our ignorance of the function of this material is the root of the name. Given that at the same time we don't understand dark matter (84% of the universe), it reflects that we have a lot to learn about our world. " "" " http://lnkd.in/5yEBcs View in LinkedIn

OCEAN GENOME RESOURCE is documenting the life in our oceans by a non-profit open DNA repository owned by the founder of New England Biolabs. This is a dotted line continuation of the initiative by Craig Venter, where he sailed around the world documenting new marine species by DNA tags. During that trip he discovered a whole new phyla of Microbial life (of only three dozen phylas covering the 100 M species in the world). We have a very long way to go to even start to understand the life in our oceans, and efforts like this are a great start. " "" " https://www.neb.com/about-neb/news-and-press-releases/2013/07/16/rare-ocean-collection View in LinkedIn

US CITIES WITH CASH for startups is just the beginning of the story. Worldwide there is a slowly emerging competition for the hottest startups and the race has started. Across the globe, city leaders have got the message: Tech SMEs can drive new Knowledge Economies on a large scale and (hopefully) sustainably. Across the world now, cities are competing for talent. The world is flat, and opportunities are emerging for entrepreneurs seeking capital. http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2013/07/16/Need-Startup-Cash-These-Cities-are-Full-of-Investors.aspx#page1 View in LinkedIn